Overcomer Movie: What Defines You?

  What defines who you are?  Your job?  Your spouse, your partner, your accomplishments?  Does your sense of well-being and satisfaction come from dependence on your position or friends or appearance or skills? What would you do if all that were taken away?  Overcomer tells an entertaining, sensitive story of finding a stable source of personal identity in the midst of life's shifts in…

Love That Won’t Let Go

"Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God."—Romans 8:38–39 NASB Born with poor eyesight in Scotland in March 1842, George Matheson’s vision deteriorated throughout his life. But he didn’t let that disability keep him from serving…

Dave Says: Zero-Based Budgeting

Dear Dave, What exactly is a zero-based budget? — Dean Dear Dean, Simply put, a zero-based budget is income minus outgo equals zero. If you earn $4,000 a month, and you’re doing a zero-based budget, every item you spend, save, give and invest should add up to $4,000. It’s a method of knowing where every single one of your dollars is going. Most people don’t live on a budget. They just…

What’s the Best Bible Translation?

Interview with Rod Laughlin, editor of the new Readable Bible. It’s a question many ask, and there’s a myriad of opinions. The simplest response I’ve heard is: “The best translation is the one you will read.” And let’s be honest, even for the person who loves the Bible with all their heart, there's some tough portions. The census data in the book of Numbers and the genealogy charts…

How to Deal with Old Wounds: A Biblical Perspective

“We forget: In life, it doesn’t matter what happens to you or where you came from. It matters what you do with what happens and what you’ve been given.” ― Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph Woundedness — Part of Our Life Journey Every one of us has been injured by life. “How to Deal with Old Wounds: A Biblical Perspective” is the first of a…

God and Hamilton: Redemption

Excerpt from God and Hamilton by Kevin Cloud The musical Hamilton resonates with me more than any piece of art I have ever experienced, primarily because it teems with the most important themes of my life. Engaging these themes of grace, shame, forgiveness, and surrender through Hamilton’s story encourages, inspires, and transforms me. But above all other themes, Hamilton’s story resonates…

Novels Show Science and God Can Co-Exist

CVB: It's interesting because you have one foot on each side of your brain. In addition to being a writer, you are also a scientist. Randy Dockens: It's called a pharmacokineticist, which I know most people don't know what that is. CVB: But it sounds so cool. Randy: So it's really the mathematical interpretation of what happens when you take a drug. So it describes how it's absorbed, how…

Can PTSD Affect Anyone … and How Do I Know If I Have It?

June is PTSD Awareness Month, but until recently many people might not have been personally concerned. Their only “awareness” was the erroneous assumption that PTSD just happens to other people. Post traumatic stress disorder can happen to anyone, and it deeply and profoundly impacts all those who are close to them. Maybe you or someone you care about has experienced abuse, a life-threatening…

Who Is Jesus to You?

"God … has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love."—Ephesians 1:3–4 Paul began his letter to the Ephesian church by focusing on the unique role Jesus played for Christians. Some might have thought that He was a philosopher like Plato or…

Dave Says: Hope Is a Good Thing

Dear Dave, What is the main difference between people who follow your plan, stick with it and succeed, and those who fall off along the way? — Damon Dear Damon, I’ve walked with thousands of families through financial problems. Some of them were speedbumps that just needed to be smoothed out, while others seemed like mountains. The biggest factor I’ve noticed separating those who stick…